Supply chains are experiencing significant advances in digital technologies, particularly those associated with industry 4.0. An example of such technology is blockchain. Blockchain is a disruptive technology characterised by anonymity and identity, consensus mechanism, decentralisation, overall performance and expectancy, reliability of systems and data, and information transparency. Blockchain offers supply chain opportunities to strengthen end-to-end visibility and traceability, leading to enhanced levels of transparency. Supply chains are increasingly exploring blockchain technology and transparency, with many focusing on system development. This paper explores transparency in blockchain-based supply chains to understand the principles underlining its design. A systematic review of literature is used, accompanied by data-driven analysis. The results present the principles within a framework for transparency by design in blockchain-based supply chains. Limitations and areas for future work are also presented.
Abstract The digitalisation of fashion supply chain transparency has gained increased attention in recent years. Technology solutions that have arisen based on advanced technologies and Web3 include smart tags, forensic tracers and blockchain platformisation. Whereby current reports discuss supply chain transparency from the perspective of the data, technical solutions and policy [1, 2], little attention is given to the fashion firms that are to adopt these technologies. Finding themselves in the midst of the supply chain transparency polemic, small to medium brands are still at a loss as to transformation and communication strategies [3]. This paper examines the standpoint of the small-scale brand, its challenges and needs in the face of digital transformation and lays the groundwork for the development of Web3 technology adoption guidelinesâthat can ultimately form, not only part of their implementation but also their communication strategy. Applying the theoretical framework of organisational theory, it provides evidence of successful practice through case study methodology. The study contributes to knowledge of organisational theory in the context of adjusting to rapid and complex change triggered by both external and internal demands for adopting advanced technology.
Antonio Mileti, Daniele Arduini, Gordon Watson, Adriana Giangrande
This study explores the application and critical issues related to the implementation of blockchain technology (BT) to the aquaculture sector, in order to understand the possibilities of improving the relationship with the supply chain and the end consumer, with a view to a sustainability for the marine environment and circular economy. Starting from considerations of commercial and political challenges related to credibility and fairness for all parties involvedâfrom producers, to retailers, to end consumersâthe procedure adopted was applied to the case of an Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture project, developed in the sea of Taranto (Italy). Furthermore, it considered two different end markets: the food market for farmed fish and the ornamental fish market for marine aquariums. The results of the study confirm that although the implementation of BT by industries and producers of marine species has the potential to lead to successful sustainability solutions, such adoption is feasible over time only if all actors in the supply chain, from aquaculture companies, to retailers, to consumers, are actively and consciously involved and can access common benefits.
This paper presents a multiple case study analysis on how blockchain technology (BCT) has been adopted in organisations to support supply chain finance (SCF) based on secondary data. Findings from the multiple case analysis indicate that BCT can cope with challenges in traditional SCF, including financing range, financing cost, financing efficiency, and risk management. Before the implementation of the BCT, multiple partiesâ decision on jointly operating the blockchain-based SCF platform enables them to take full advantage of their inherent resources and blockchain characteristics. Also, both the BCT and enterprises need internal and external adjustments, which are interrelated. The unexpected issues may emerge from the pilot stage, but the adjustments are still involved in the previous stages, leading to a feedback loop from the pilot stage to the redefining/restructuring stage. To realise large-scale implementation of blockchain-based SCF solutions, more stakeholders need to be motivated to adopt the BCT, and new laws and regulations should be developed to promote the BCT adoption. Based on these findings and by applying innovation adoption theory, an overall implementation framework is proposed to provide a meaningful guidance for organisations to adopt BCT in SCF.
Laura Corazza, Junru Zhang, Dilhani Kapu Arachchilage, Simone Domenico Scagnelli
This paper presents the implications of blockchain technologies on sustainability reporting and disclosure, and specifically proposes blockchain use-cases as a possible solution for problems experienced in the field of supply chain carbon information. This study addresses how the reliability of supply chainsâ carbon-related information can become more transparent and reliable through a decentralized approach based on blockchain thinking (BT), issues that have been identified as a gap in the literature and in the practice. Scenario analysis and design science research (DSR) are used as a methodological driver to conceptualize over the nature of practical solutions using unified modeling language (UML) diagrams. The resulting use-case focuses on data retrieval in the supply chain. The paper also presents implications for the audit industry and their role in the assurance of such technological architecture implementations. The study is visionary as it offers a conceptualization based on scenario analysis. Developing a scenario enables researchers to depict a prospective situation, develop ability to solve future problems, and to back cast them in current policies, technologies, and actions.
Purpose This paper aims to assess the readiness of retail workers to use blockchain technology (BCT) to improve supply chain performance. The assessment was made via a quantitative approach taken using a theoretical framework based on Kellerâs motivation model and self-determination theory in the BCT context. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected data from 567 retail workers from an emerging country through a structured survey questionnaire. The authors tested the hypotheses of the proposed model using Warp PLS 7.0 and controlled firm age, industry type and technological intensity. Findings Our findings may help firms in making the process of digital transformation inclusive. The authors found that supplier-based attention and motivation through BCT lead to supply chain performance, and that supplier-based satisfaction and trust achieved through BCT positively impact supply chain performance. Further, supplier-based relevance on raw material selection with the higher trust and motivation levels achieved through BCT was found to have a positive impact on supply chain performance. Research limitations/implications IT supply chain applications are referred to as âleanâ rather than ârichâ because they still rely mainly on written and numerical means to present data. When the environment is less ambiguous, then less rich media can be used to facilitate communication. IT supply chain applications allow suppliers to spend time building relationships with other suppliers instead of focusing on administrative tasks, thus enhancing such relationships. Originality/value This study can be considered the first to assess retailer readiness to use BCT to improve supply chain performance through the theoretical lens of Kellerâs motivation model and self-determination theory.
This study aims to investigate the extent to which the contributions of blockchain technology to supply chain parameters influence blockchain adoption among SMEs. Drawing on contingency theory, the study investigates the moderating effect of market turbulence. The data were collected from 204 SMEs in Malaysiaâs manufacturing sector and analysed using the partial least squares technique. The results showed that the intention of SMEsâ managers to adopt blockchain is influenced by the contributions of blockchain to supply chain transparency and agility. Supply chain transparency, alignment, adaptability, and agility are interrelated. Market turbulence moderates positively the association between agility and intention to adopt blockchain. This study extends the literature by decomposing the concept of relative advantages and investigating the influences of blockchain benefits on blockchain adoption. The moderating effect of market turbulence indicates that the influence of blockchain on agility is more important for SMEs operating in a turbulent environment than the SMEs in a stable market. The findings help the policymakers and blockchain vendors in developing effective plans and strategies to speed up the adoption of blockchain among SMEs. Furthermore, the results give confidence to the managers and owners of SMEs that blockchain can be a valuable competitive advantage source.
Despite the hype about blockchains among supply chain management (SCM) practitioners and researchers, the technologyâs adoption is still low, and confusion remains about its potential benefits for operational efficiency and effectiveness. Building on a multiple case study research, this paper clarifies current value creation opportunities enabled by the blockchain for product/material tracking and tracing. We highlight that the setup of blockchain projects depends on the presence of different drivers on customer value or efficiency and the focus towards products/components or raw materials. Based on how tracking and tracing drivers and focus influence the initial blockchain setup, contingent factors are discussed and possible evolutionary patterns are identified. These findings are elaborated in one setup matrix and three propositions. The study is one of the few to add empirical evidence to the mainly conceptual SCM blockchain literature and provides a middle-range theoretical contribution based on contingency theory. Furthermore, it offers actionable guidance for managers and policy makers about SCM blockchain adoption.
Dnyaneshwar Jivanrao Ghode, Vinod Yadav, Rakesh Jain, Gunjan Soni
Purpose In the era of digitization, blockchain technology (BCT) has gained huge attraction in a variety of business processes including operations and supply chains (SC) of different industrial sectors. This paper aims that the adoption of BCT in SC enables the industries to integrate the stakeholders and its distinct features enhance the performance of SC. Design/methodology/approach An attempt is made to develop a BCT platform a pilot case of bearing-SC and identify the challenges and their solutions in the integration of BCT with SC. Moreover, the impact of BCT on measures of SC performance is also studied. Findings The results show enhanced transparency in the transactions, better security of the data, diminished latency period for transfer of information, improved traceability of the bearing, reduced time for payment transfer process and decreased nonvalue-added activities. Ultimately, overall trust of the customer can be improved by the integration of BCT in bearing-SC. Originality/value In the same way, BCT can be applied to SC of other components to assure the product quality to the end-users.
The objective of this article is to assist the reader in understanding the journey from traditional Supply Chain Management to Digital Supply Chain Management. It aims to augment the concept of Digital Supply Chain Management with blockchain technology and create an extensive literature review to assist in formulating the gaps and discovering the variables that contribute towards the efficiency of a Blockchain-Based Digital Supply Chain. Moreover, this article aims to validate the impact of specified parameters resulting in customer retention and market leadership for an organization. Digital technologies such as the Internet of Things, blockchain, etc., are disrupting the traditional ways of doing business and creating value propositions for customers. Supply Chain Management is a key business process for an organization that helps them compete in the market. Organizations have seized competition not as individual brands but as supply chains. Digital Supply Chain Management is the implementation of digital technologies to capture customer data at every interaction to create customer engagement strategies. This article provides an empirical analysis of parameters influencing a Blockchain-Augmented Digital Supply Chain resulting in customer retention and market leadership and shows how, through a Blockchain-Based Digital Supply Chain, the business objective of being a customer-centric organization is assisted with the customer data generated at each interaction that is enabled.
Abstract The unethical behavior of greenwashing threatens the growth of sustainable products and markets. Greenwashing degrades essential efforts to reduce climate change and pollution and to promote social justice. False marketing communication that claims products are sustainable hurts the value of green products and weakens customer capability to prefer sustainable to nonsustainable products. Greenwashing also eliminates trust in âgreenâ products. Markets infected by fake âgreenâ products ultimately fail to provide the necessary sustainable transformation. Our study demonstrates that consumer access to reliable transparent, traceable, and tamperproof product information counteracts perceived greenwashing among consumers of ecological foods. Furthermore, our data indicate that blockchain information significantly more than certification systems safeguard consumers against the threat of greenwashing. Information validating authenticity promotes the development of sustainable products, protects intellectual property rights for suppliers of green products, and safeguards the supply of green products to consumers. Consumers need key information that ensures the provenance of green products. Conventional wisdom endorses certifications to constrain greenwashing. However, we find that blockchain information dimensions protect brands against perceived greenwashing more robustly than certification systems.
Inês A. Ferreira, Radu Godina, António Pinto, Pedro Pinto ¡ 5 authors
The role of new technologies such as additive manufacturing and blockchain technology in designing and implementing circular economy ecosystems is not a trivial issue. This study aimed to understand if blockchain technology can be an enabler tool for developing additive symbiotic networks. A real case study was developed regarding a circular economy ecosystem in which a fused granular fabrication 3D printer is used to valorize polycarbonate waste. The industrial symbiosis network comprised four stakeholders: a manufacturing company that produces polycarbonate waste, a municipality service responsible for the city waste management, a start-up holding the 3D printer, and a non-profit store. It was identified a set of six requirements to adopt the blockchain technology in an additive symbiotic network, bearing in mind the need to have a database to keep track of the properties of the input material for the 3D printer during the exchanges, in addition to the inexistence of mechanisms of trust or cooperation between well-established industries and the additive manufacturing industry. The findings suggested a permissioned blockchain to support the implementation of the additive symbiotic network, namely, to enable the physical transactions (quantity and quality of waste material PC sheets) and monitoring and reporting (additive manufacturing technology knowledge and final product's quantity and price). Future research venues include developing blockchain-based systems that enhance the development of additive symbiotic networks.
Open access
Sustainable Supply Chain Management
Sustainable Industrial Ecology
Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies
Abdelrahman E. E. Eltoukhy, Mohamed Hussein, Min Xu, Felix T.S. Chan
In modular integrated construction (MiC), the resource allocation problem (RAP) adopted by construction sites and vehicle routing problem (VRP) adopted by logistics companies are highly interdependent. However, this interdependence has been overlooked in the literature. Thus, the plans determined by each problem cannot be achieved practically. Moreover, there is no existing VRP model suitable for the MiC application. This study aims to propose a VRP model suitable for MiC, investigate the interdependence between the RAP and proposed VRP model, and develop a blockchain system to secure information sharing between the RAP and VRP. The first two objectives are achieved by developing a coordinated system formulated as a leader-follower Stackelberg game model (LFSGM). This model is presented as a bi-level optimisation model and solved using a nested ant colony optimisation-based algorithm. The effectiveness of the LFSGM is validated using a real case study. The results show that using the traditional approach (i.e. a separate RAP and proposed VRP) succeeds in providing a plan for the construction sites but not for the logistics company. In contrast, the LFSGM offers applicable plans for both the construction sites and logistics company. Lastly, some managerial implications are identified and discussed.
Javed Aslam, Aqeela Saleem, Nokhaiz Tariq Khan, Yun Kim
Oil and gas (O&G) supply chain management (SCM) is complex because it deals with different geographic locations to manage demand and supply, transportation, inventory, and distribution. Blockchain technology has created an interesting research gap in the SCM domain, and this study is designed to describe the relevancy of blockchain technology for O&G SCM. SCM is based on agile and lean supply chains (SCs). Agile SC focuses on increasing flexibility and responsiveness to gain competitive advantages, and lean SC is based on eliminating waste and processes to improve firm performance. This study is an initial effort to propose a framework that suggests the implication of blockchain for O&G by providing an overview of O&G SCM. Data were collected from SC managers of O&G companies, and we analyzed the impact of agile and lean SCs on firm performance. The results indicate that agile SC is highly important for O&G industries in comparison to lean SC. This study proposes the key requirements of agile SC and how blockchain can uplift agile SC technology with state-of-the-art properties such as data-driven management, information sharing, data privacy, cyber-security, transparency, smart contracts, visibility, traceability, and reliability, which boost SC agility as well as firm performance.